New English Translation
Jeremiah 5:21
21Tell them: ‘Hear this, you foolish people who have no understanding, who have eyes but do not discern, who have ears but do not perceive:
Jeremiah 5:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
- New International Version (NIV)Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear:
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not.
- New King James Version (NKJV)‘Hear this now, O foolish people, Without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, And who have ears and hear not:
Context of Jeremiah 5:21
19“So then, Jeremiah, when your people ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ tell them, ‘It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So you must serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.’ 20“Proclaim this message among the descendants of Jacob. Make it known throughout Judah. Tell them: ‘Hear this, you foolish people who have no understanding, who have eyes but do not discern, who have ears but do not perceive: 22“You should fear me!” says the Lord. “You should tremble in awe before me! I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it can never cross. Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail. They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.” 23But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and gone their own way.
Read all of Jeremiah 5Jeremiah 5:21 word by word
שִׁמְעוּ־נָ֣א זֹ֔את עַ֥ם סָכָ֖ל וְאֵ֣ין לֵ֑ב עֵינַ֤יִם לָהֶם֙ וְלֹ֣א יִרְא֔וּ אָזְנַ֥יִם לָהֶ֖ם וְלֹ֥א יִשְׁמָֽעוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 5:21
- Jeremiah 5:4I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. They do not know what their God requires of them.
- Jeremiah 4:22The Lord answered, “This will happen because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good.”
- Jeremiah 8:7Even the stork knows when it is time to move on. The turtledove, swallow, and crane recognize the normal times for their migration. But my people pay no attention to what I, the Lord, require of them.
- Jeremiah 10:8The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless!
- Deuteronomy 29:4But to this very day the Lord has not given you an understanding mind, perceptive eyes, or discerning ears!
- Deuteronomy 32:6Is this how you repay the Lord, you foolish, unwise people? Is he not your father, your creator? He has made you and established you.
- Psalms 94:8Take notice of this, you ignorant people! You fools, when will you ever understand?
- Isaiah 6:9He said, “Go and tell these people: ‘Listen continually, but don’t understand! Look continually, but don’t perceive!’
- Isaiah 27:11When its branches get brittle, they break; women come and use them for kindling. For these people lack understanding, therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them; the one who formed them has no mercy on them.
- Isaiah 44:18They do not comprehend or understand, for their eyes are blind and cannot see; their minds do not discern.
- Ezekiel 12:1The word of the Lord came to me:
- Matthew 13:13For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand.
- John 12:40“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their heart, and turn to me, and I would heal them.”
- Acts 28:26when he said, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will never understand, and you will keep on looking, but will never perceive.
- Romans 11:8as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, to this very day.”
- Proverbs 17:16Of what use is money in the hand of a fool, since he has no intention of acquiring wisdom?
Commentaries on Jeremiah 5:21
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20-31Verses 20-31 Against the God (1) of Creation Jeremiah 5:22, and (2) of Providence Jeremiah 5:24, They sin, not merely by apostasy, but by a general immorality extending to all classes Jeremiah 5:25-28. It is in this immorality that their idolatry has its root. Jeremiah 5:22 The sea is the symbol of restless and indomitable energy, chafing against all resistance, and dashing to pieces the works whereby man endeavors to restrain its fury. Yet God has…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-31Verses 19-31 Unhumbled hearts are ready to charge God with being unjust in their afflictions. But they may read their sin in their punishment. If men will inquire wherefore the Lord doeth hard things unto them, let them think of their sins. The restless waves obeyed the Divine decree, that they should not pass the sandy shores, which were as much a restraint as lofty mountains; but they burst all restraints of God's law, and were wholly gone into…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21in the house of Jacob: In the Old Testament, "Jacob" and "Israel" are often used interchangeably. They can refer to the patriarch or the nation. To be foolish means to act rashly and immorally, ignoring consequences. senseless: This literally means no heart. When "heart" is negative, it means a person or group does not want to do moral acts and rejects intelligent behavior that pleases God. The people's ears and eyes worked (see study note on Jeremiah…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. eyes ... ears, and--Translate, "and yet" (compare De 29:4; Is 6:9). Having powers of perception, they did not use them: still they were responsible for the exercise of them.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 5:21
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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